


"Queens." "Nice."

by Lady_of_the_Spirit



Category: A Christmas Prince (2017)
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Melissa is awesome but needs a hug, Simon is a softie for romance, don't mind me just writing a fic for a side pairing in a cringey christmas romcom trilogy, in between royal wedding and royal baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_the_Spirit/pseuds/Lady_of_the_Spirit
Summary: Melissa and Simon deserve a proper love story too, although their problems are less about national crises and treasonous plots and more about judgemental friends and the time difference between New York and Aldovia.(The fic where I finally say "fuck it" and do what I want.)
Relationships: Melissa/Simon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Melissa gave Simon her number but she didn't expect him to use it. He was - emphasis on was, Amber had made that very clear - a count, or a duke or some other royal position, and lived in the royal palace now for reasons unknown to Melissa (Amber and Richard made it very clear they did not trust him, so why they let him live with them was anyone's guess). She had given him her number before leaving Aldovia, telling him to not be a stranger and give her a call sometime. Simon had looked delighted, or at least Melissa had thought so, and promised to do so. 

Part of Melissa, the part forged from experience, had thought he had just been saying that and wouldn't give her a second thought while she spent two weeks waiting for him to call. If all those regular New York boys hadn't bothered with her, why would someone with an actual royal title do so?

But to her surprise, the day after she returned to her parents' apartment and tried to sleep off her jet-lag, she woke up to find a text message waiting for her. 

_I just heard from Amber you made it home safely._

_I'm glad to hear it, although Amber was suspicious when I asked about you._

The 'This is Simon' that followed the first two texts was unnecessary, first because Melissa didn't know anyone else who texted so properly but royal family members, second because she already had Richard's number in her phone and he had sent her a similar message already, and third because Amber wouldn't be suspicious of anyone else but Simon. It made her laugh, though, because she could feel his concern that she wouldn't know it was him in the awkward space between text bubbles, indicating at least a few minutes had gone by between the second and last texts being sent. 

It made her melt a little bit when she read that he had asked about her, instead of just hearing Amber mention it to someone else. 

She was glad her messages app didn't tell him she had read his texts because she fell asleep again right after reading them. 

* * *

Simon had been surprised by how much he genuinely liked Melissa and her company. Living amongst the Aldovian people for almost a year had changed much of his original opinions on the common folk, so her not being royal or high class didn't make a difference to him, but Melissa was still a friend of Amber. Given Amber's... well, everything, he had assumed that her friends would be like her. She was a fine woman but she wasn't someone he would go out of his way to spend time with, she didn't have the same spark. She was more Richard's speed than his. 

But Melissa was not what he had expected. She was witty and not above some dark humour (he had clearly been joking about holding the record keepers pet hostage, despite Amber's glare), and she was able to keep up the banter with him without immediately jumping to insults. 

He had been more surprised by how Melissa hadn't shown him any animosity for his actions towards Amber and Richard last Christmas. Any friendly face was enough for him, and after spending the whole wedding party talking with her he decided he did not want to lose touch. And she had given him her number without him even asking. 

Amber was suspicious when he asked her if Melissa had made it home safely, but frankly, Simon didn't care. And it gave him something to mention to keep it from being a single "glad you made it home safe" text. Simon was sure Melissa would want to comment on it. 

When she finally texted him back, after a whole day, she said: _Of course she was, who knows what kind of devious plot you could come up with?_

He wrote back, grinning already, _Oh, I have lots. I could find your building, fly over on my private jet, and take everyone hostage. The perfect crime._

She responded with a laughing-crying emoji, and then said, _hey, I don't have an international plan, can we Skype instead?_

Simon didn't think he responded that quickly, but he was getting his laptop out halfway through reading her text. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa's had a crappy day and wonders about calling Simon. Of course, she does.

Melissa could not help the exhausted sigh she let out when she collapsed onto her bed. She checked her clock - it was only five. She groaned and threw her arm over her eyes. It should have been at least six. It was pitch black outside and there were still hours to go before it was really nighttime. 

She hated winter. After Christmas and New Years', it was all downhill. Worse still was coming back from a royal wedding in a small idyllic European kingdom to be faced with the reality of living with her parents while searching for a job. 

She had yet to be successful. She had two different interviews today, both for positions she was more than qualified for, but neither had felt like a triumph. She had left both meetings completely drained and miserable. That wasn't the end of it, though - after the second interview, the exact moment she stepped out of the building was when a passing bus drove right through a puddle and splattered the front of her coat with grey slush. Then she'd had to go to the grocery store for dinner looking like that, and of course who else would be there but Mike? At least she had managed to duck before a stack of canned peaches before he saw her, but it had not improved her mood.

Her parents were still on vacation for the holidays and wouldn't return for a few more days, so at least she had the apartment to herself so she could get into her pyjamas, pour herself some wine, and sit on the couch and feel sorry for herself without judgement. 

After twenty minutes of doing just that, Melissa did not feel any better. 

She thought about texting Andy, but he would be at work, and even if he didn't seem to care, if he got caught talking while on the clock he could get fired. Amber? No, she'd still be on her honeymoon. She couldn't bother her. 

Melissa paused. She could call Simon. 

They had talked a few times since that first Skype session. Each time they had pretty light conversations, just getting to know each other without the drama of political corruption in the way (not that they had let that stop them in the first place, much to Amber's annoyance). It wasn't anything serious, despite some definite flirting on both sides, but Melissa always felt a lot happier after their talk than she had before. Simon was funny, charming, and he always seemed pleased to see her. 

But every time they had talked it was pretty casual and it had always been a mutual conversation. At the moment, Melissa just wanted someone to vent to, someone to listen to her. Guys she had dated in the past always _said_ they would listen, but they never really did. It was like if they couldn't contribute to a conversation, they didn't care. 

Simon had told her to call whenever she wanted to talk, but she wasn't sure if this was what he meant. Did he want to hear about her problems? Was that part of the easy relationship they had so far? She wasn't sure she wanted to know if it wasn't. 

And, if she was going to be honest, she liked Simon a _lot_ and she was not sure she wanted to find out so soon that he was one of the guys who wouldn't listen to her.

Melissa bit her lip and swirled her wine around in her glass. On the other hand, maybe if he disappointed her now, it would spare her the trouble later. 

With that slightly depressing motive in mind, Melissa picked up her phone and called Simon. 

She listened anxiously with each ring. On the fifth ring, she thought about just hanging up and was deciding between risking Andy's job or being miserable and lonely for the rest of the night. Simon picked up right before the sixth ring. 

"Hello?" He sounded gruff and disoriented. 

"Simon?" 

"Melissa?" He still sounded confused, but less so. 

"Yeah. Sorry, were you asleep?" 

She heard a yawn on the other side which was really the only answer she needed. "Somewhat. It is only... one in the morning."

Melissa felt even worse. "Oh my god, Simon, I'm so sorry, I totally blanked on the time difference. I'll just-" 

She was just about to hang up, throw her phone across the room and scream into the couch pillow for a little while when Simon, sounding a little more awake, quickly said, "No! It's no problem, Melissa, really." 

"You're sure?" she asked with a frown. 

"I did say call me any time, didn't I?" He laughed a bit.

"Right, but that's something you say when you're in the same time zone as someone." 

"Well, I meant it as someone who lives seven hours ahead of you." 

Melissa smiled despite herself. "Sorry again about that. I..." she sighed. "It's been a long day." 

"Oh?" He sounded concerned. A good sign. "What happened?"

She sighed even louder. "You're sure you want to hear it?"

"Melissa. I think that any day that would make you forget about a time difference you've had with your best friend for a year now is worth hearing about." 

She couldn't argue with that logic. So she stretched out on the couch and began telling him the events of her long and dreary day. 

Simon was a good listener. He didn't interrupt, but he did make the appropriate noises at the right times - making a huffy noise when she said the people at the first interview seemed to view her as a potential diversity hire. He reacted exactly the way she wanted him to - giving an empathetic but not pitying "oh, _Melissa_ ," when she told him about being splashed by the bus, for one. 

It was nice. It made recounting the exhausting events somewhat better. 

"And if all that wasn't bad enough," she said, "I got to the store and who do I see but Mike?" 

"Who's Mike?"

Melissa winced. "An ex-boyfriend." 

"Ah. Another idiot in the long line of idiots you had to deal with today." She could see him shaking his head in disgust just by his tone. 

"How do you know he's an idiot?" She asked, smiling. 

"Well, either he broke up with you, which automatically makes him an idiot, or you broke up with him, which means he wasn't good enough for you, which means he has to be an idiot." 

She laughed. "I'm glad you think so highly of me."

"Only the best for you, Melissa," he said solemnly, but she could tell he was smiling. 

Melissa wondered if he was talking about himself, or if she wanted him to be talking about himself. 

"Well, however smart he is, he broke up with me-"

"Idiot, like I said." 

"But he wasn't alone when I saw him today. He was with a girl." That had been the kicker. It was one thing to see your ex. It was quite another to see your ex with someone else. 

"A friend, maybe?"

"Nope. Girlfriend. Arm around her waist and everything." 

"Disgusting. You take up space in the shopping aisles that way. Leave space for others," he said scornfully. 

Melissa nodded, despite knowing he couldn't see her. "I had to duck behind the stack of canned peaches so he didn't see me." She sighed. "I mean, I couldn't show myself, could I? He's got someone new and I don't and it's already been half a year. And I don't have anything to show for myself so I couldn't rub in his face how good I'm doing without him because I'm not! I'm living with my parents, unemployed, single, while my best friend is the queen of a small country right now. God!

"I mean, I love Amber, I do. But it just shows how little I've done. I mean, she's married and a queen for god's sake. She's solved two political scandals within a year. And what am I doing? Hiding from an ex behind canned peaches and getting splashed by buses." Melissa groaned and rubbed her face.

Simon was quiet. 

Melissa panicked. "Sorry, that was a lot to dump on you all at once." 

"Oh, that?" Simon said dismissively. "I'd say it's nice to hear about _real_ problems for once, instead of hearing the princess whine about her Christmas play shutting down for a worker's strike." 

Melissa's first instinct was to defend Emily, then to agree with Simon, then to listen to what he had said. 

"Trust me, Melissa, whatever complaints you have about, they'll always be a welcome distraction from the monotony of palace life."

 _Oh_. He was telling her, in his own way, that her problems were real, and that he didn't mind hearing about them. 

"Besides," Simon continued, still in that airy tone, "all of this is just another phase of life. It doesn't define you, and it's hardly something to be ashamed of. Success can come at any age." 

Melissa chewed her lip, starting to smile. 

"You still there?"

"Yeah."

"Does that... help?" He sounded unsure and it made her smile wider. 

"Yeah, it does. Thanks, Simon." 

"If only the royals were as open to my advice as you are." He sighed dramatically.

"I'm sure if you give them time, they'll come around." 

"They'd better. I can hardly ask them to listen to me more than I already do, or they'll suspect me of some villainy and throw me in the dungeon." 

"I'd call Amber and yell at her if she did that."

"My knight in shining armour. 

"Or I'd come and join you! We could be cellmates."

"Yes, very romantic." 

"We could plan our own little coup and take over the country," she joked, feeling her cheeks warm at the mention of romance. "How's that sound?"

"It's a date," Simon replied, and once again she could tell he was smiling. "Are you feeling any better now?"

"Much," she said honestly. "Thanks for listening, Simon. I..." she took a deep breath. "I always feel better when I talk to you."

Simon was silent on the other end for a few seconds and she thought he'd hung up before he finally said, "I always feel better when I talk to _you_."

Melissa absolutely beamed. It was one thing to tell someone that. It was another, far better feeling to have someone say it to you. It was even better when that someone was Simon. "Alright. I've gotta go make myself some dinner that isn't wine, and I should let you go back to sleep." 

"Someday soon we should figure out the best system for these chats," Simon said, clearly stifling a yawn. "So neither of us is deprived of too much sleep."

He wanted to come up with a system. He wanted to keep talking to her. 

"You're probably right." She laughed. "Alright, goodnight, Simon. Thanks again for listening."

"Always, Melissa," he said before the call was disconnected. 

Melissa just about squealed. Her face was starting to hurt from smiling so much, but she could hardly care about that. Simon had listened. Simon had cared about her struggles. Simon had wanted to help her feel better. _Simon wanted to keep talking to her for the foreseeable future._ None of her fears had come true. And Simon felt better when he talked to her! 

Exhaustion of the day almost forgotten entirely, Melissa jumped off the couch and practically skipped to the refrigerator. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! I had a hard time figuring out what to write for this chapter, that's what took me so long :/ I have a vague outline for the next few chapters in my head so hopefully, I'll get through them faster.
> 
> I was thinking about Melissa's line from RB when she says "Sometimes I get a little insecure, out of my depth with royals" and playing with that a little. That and the tag I gave this fic is gonna come in handy. She and Simon are fun to write. 
> 
> After spending far too much time studying the map of Aldovia from the movies (and spending too much time thinking about the Netflix Christmas RomCom Cinematic Universe) I've guessed that somehow Aldovia is like, a replacement for Romania somehow, so Aldovia has Romania's time zone and so is seven hours ahead of New York. 
> 
> Please excuse the jab at Emily, I have to poke fun at the characters a little for being more concerned with their Christmas being ruined than the nation-wide strike.


End file.
